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PODCAST

Christmas Movies Actually

You don"t have to love Christmas to love this podcast. Film critic Collin Souter and renowned sheep expert Kerry Finegan delve into every type of Christmas movie they can find. Classics, non-classics, horror, Hallmark, obscurities, foreign, shorts, TV specials, unnecessary sequels and remakes. Even films that you might not think of as traditional Christmas movies. The great, the awful and the unusual, all year round.

tv & film visual arts

All Episodes

01:38:17

150: BONUS - New Christmas Movies Now Streaming

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2025/12/12

Kerry and Collin have been keeping track of several new Christmas films and TV episodes that have been dropping over the last several weeks and give brief thoughts on each of them. This includes "A Very Jonas Christmas," "Jingle Bell Heist," "A Paw Patrol Christmas," "The Merchants of Joy," "Oh. What. Fun." and "Christmas Karma." They also have quick thoughts on the new "Silent Night, Deadly Night" remake, which will be talked about more in-depth in October of next year, per SNDN tradition. Kerry

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01:29:47

149: Santa Claus Conquers The Martians (1964) / The...

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2025/12/05

"Santa Claus Conquers The Martians" is often considered the Granddaddy of all bad Christmas films. A cheaply made kiddie flick from 1964, it is perhaps most well known for being the screen debut of a young Pia Zadora. Film critic Dave Canfield returns to the show to dissect the film's notoriety, the filmmakers' misguided intentions and what makes this public domain favorite so special. They also discuss a lesser-known yuletide oddity for kids along the same lines, "The Christmas Martian." A Canadian

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01:44:43

148: The Ice Harvest - 20th Anniversary (feat. Nick...

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2025/11/30

Last year, film critic Nick Digilio came onto the show to talk about the crime comedy "The Ref." This year, he returns to talk about a film that feels like a close cousin to that film, Harold Ramis' "The Ice Harvest," starring John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton, Connie Nielsen and Oliver Platt. Like "The Ref," it is an underseen gem about criminals trying to get out of town on Christmas Eve, with too many obstacles--including family, cops and other criminals--getting in the way. What was it like to

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01:21:23

147: A Merry Little Ex-Mas (2025)

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2025/11/20

Every year, Netflix kicks off the Christmas movie season with a little trifle of a rom-com that stars an actress whose name used to be commonly above the title in past decades. This year, it's Alicia Silverstone's turn in the formulaic "A Merry Little Ex-Mas," a tension-less comedy in which a married couple call it quits on their marriage, but decide to stay together, more or less, through the holidays. Does the script give Silverstone anything to do? Should we all have two Christmas trees up in our

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01:45:17

146: Thanksgiving Movies Actually: Planes, Trains and...

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2025/11/05

Author Ed Daly (The Christmas Book) returns to talk about easily one of the most celebrated holiday movies ever, John Hughes' Thanksgiving classic "Planes, Trains and Automobiles." This movie was the career-changer for the late, great John Candy and this episode gets into the hows and whys of that turning point, as well as how the movie was ultimately saved in the editing (as many films often are, but here especially). Would you consider yourself more of a Neal or a Del? What is the most important

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01:39:48

145: Don't Open Till Christmas (1984) (feat. Patrick...

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2025/10/20

With all the Silent Night, Deadly Night films complete (or are they?), Kerry, Collin and their frequent guest at this time of year, Patick Ripoll, take a look at another slasher film from the same era, the less controversial, but just as violent Don't Open Till Christmas, directed by (kind-of) and starring Edward Purdom. There's not a whole lot that makes sense here, but that's what makes it so fun to dissect. Why is one character hanging up random strands of garland in random places in her

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01:42:22

144: Halloween Movies Actually: Monster House (feat....

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2025/10/05

Collin and Kerry correct a mistake from last year by focusing on a movie that actually does take place during Halloween. Christine Sellin returns to talk about "Monster House," a subversive and hilarious animated from from 2006 that sneaks up on the viewer with a poignant story of love that durns dark and foreboding when you look back on it. Is this the best of the motion-capture animated films of this era? How does the animation hold up today? What was trick-or-treating like when you were a kid

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01:26:25

143: Remember The Night (1940) (feat. John Zukowski)

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2025/09/20

Unfortunately, our episode on "The Apartment" has to be postponed until next year. Our apologioes for that. Fortunately, author John Zukowski was able to step in at the last minute and introduce a new Christmas gem to us, "Remember The Night," a film starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray that pretty much set the template for many Christmas romances to come. The first (but certainly not the last) of its kind, "Remember The Night" fits in perfectly with our last two episodes that touched on

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01:24:51

142: The Baltimorons (feat. Jay Duplass, Michael...

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2025/09/05

The director and stars of the wonderful comedy "The Baltimorons" (currently/soon in theaters) join the show briefly to discuss the film's evolution and its purpose as a Christmas movie. Before that, though, Kerry and Collin discuss the film after seeing it a second time. What other movies come to mind with this kind of premise? Can anyone do improv? What are the favorite Christmas movies of the guests featured? Tune in to find out. Also, new blu-rays, a couple of which tie into some very recent

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01:26:57

141: The Sure Thing / Better Off Dead (1985)

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2025/08/20

Kerry and Collin didn't plan on 2025 being a John Cusack-a-thon, but that's what ended up happening. After talking about "Serendipity" back in February and with "The Ice Harvest" coming up in December, the hosts decided to do a Cusack double-header of Christmas-adjacent films that came out 40 years ago. "The Sure Thing" was Cusack's first starring role in the teenage take on "It Happened One Night" while "Better Off Dead" took on a much weirder tone and ended up being a cult favorite, much to

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01:37:05

140: Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny (feat. Pat McDonald)

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2025/08/05

It's so hot out there! What better way to defeat the August heat than to watch Santa Claus stuck in his sleigh on a sizzling Florida beach? Who will help him get back to the North Pole? A rag-tag group of homeless minors who have no experience working with animals. Also, the Ice Cream Bunny, whatever that is. FIlm critic Pat McDonald join Collin and Kerry to break down "Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny," one of the absolute weirdest holiday concoctions of all time with a just-barely-stitched-together

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01:43:41

139: The Love Boat - The Christmas Cruise (feat. Jim...

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2025/07/20

Kerry and Collin are joined by their good friend Jim Peebles, who also guested on the "A Very Brady Christmas" episode. "The Love Boat" is certainly cut from the same cloth, but this "Christmas Cruise" remains a mystery. Is it a movie? Is it two episodes seamlessly jammed together? Why no separate listing for it on Letterbox'd or IMDb? Currently availabel on Paramount+, this movie-sode is chock full of mysteries. Where did the kid chorus come from? How are people able to buy massive amounts of

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01:41:11

138: Invasion U.S.A. (1985) (feat. Erik Childress)

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2025/07/04

We’re releasing this a day early, the 4th of July, because why not? After all, the film has “U.S.A.” in the title. Kerry and Collin are joined by frequent guest, Erik Childress (host of Movie Madness) to talk about one of the dumbest films to come out of 1985, from Cannon Studios, one of the most notorious movie studios of its era. Who did Chuck Norris originally want to be his co-star and how would that person’s career have been altered if it had happened? Why are the terrorists in the film

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01:56:45

137: Brazil - 40th Anniversary (feat. Jeff Broitman)

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2025/06/20

Kerry and Collin are joined by Jeff Broitman (formerly of the podcast Fresh Perspective) to talk about one of Collin's all-time favorite films, Terry Gilliam's 1985 masterpiece "Brazil." It also happens to be one of Jeff's favorite movies as well. While the film certainly belongs in the "Christmas adjacent" category of Christmas movies, there is nevertheless a richness to it that warrants a long discussion on the film's artistic merit, its place in film history and the role it played in completely

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01:43:04

136: Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2025/06/05

Based on the encouragement of a GQ article from 2016, Kerry and Collin took a look back at “Bridget Jones’s Diary” to see if the writer of said article had been onto something. That led them to go back and rewatch all of the “Bridget Jones” movies including the latest, which just came out on blu-ray. What/who is the Bridget Jones of today? How would we rank the boyfriends/fiancees in the entire series? Did “Bridget Jones’s Diary” kickstart the “ugly sweater” craze that started in the early 2000s

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01:13:42

135: Deck the Halls (2006)

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2025/05/20

Kerry and Collin plowed through this comedy starring Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito as two feuding neighbors at Christmastime. The experience of watching the film caused one of them to ponder, "why are we doing this podcast?" There are so many other questions, though. What makes the old, white iMacs so special? How long would it actually take to make an elaborate Christmas light trail, cook an even more elaborate dinner and then cover your entire house with Christmas lights? What did DeVito do

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01:24:32

134: The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006)

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2025/05/05

Kerry and Collin, while trying desperately to recall facts about part 2, finally round out the Tim Allen "Santa Clause" trilogy with should be the best of the bunch, considering the casting of Martin Short. Did it meet the expectation? Maybe. If nothing else, he gives the viewer someone to root for. Is this really "the greatest Santa Claus story ever"? Why couldn't the elves put together a suitable hospital room somewhere in the North Pole where Mrs. Claus can give birth to her child? How does Alan

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01:19:24

133: The Holly and the Ivy (1952) (feat. Nell Minow)

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2025/04/20

A listener requested this title quite some time ago and it finally happened! Film critic Nell Minow joins Kerry and Collin to talk about this relatively obscure, but wonderful movie that might just be the first ever in the sub-genre of holiday films where the family returns home for the holiday festivities and slowly start airing their grievances and secrets. Do clergymen really enjoy doing the Christmas sermons? Is there a moment in "Love Actually" that is a tribute to this movie? How does director

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02:21:02

132: Night of the Comet (feat. Catherine Mary Stewart...

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2025/04/05

Kerry and Collin are joined by Catherine Mary Stewart, star of the 1984 cult classic "Night of the Comet," an apocalyptic sci-fi film where the world ends at Christmastime, which is the best time to go shopping. They are also joined by returning guest Marya E. Gates, author of the new book "Cinema Her Way: Visionary Female Directors in Their Own Words." The four of them talk in-depth about "Night of the Comet" while Stewart tells some great production stories from working on the film, while also

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01:06:48

131: Smoke (1995)

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2025/03/20

Wayne Wang's "Smoke" doesn't look like a Christmas movie, sound like a Christmas movie or ever feel like a Christmas movie. It really isn't, but the final fifteen minutes of this terrific ensemble film features a moving and poetic Christmas story that makes it worthy of inclusion on this show (hey, it has more Chrsitmas in it than Disney's "Babes In Toyland"). The film stars Harvey Keitel, William Hurt, Forrest Whitaker, Stockard Channing, Ashley Judd, Giancarlo Esposito, Harold Perrineau and Jared

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145 results

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